HKU POP SITE releases a column article on the common mistakes made by the local media in reporting opinion polls and suggestions on how to present the figuresBack

The "HKU POP SITE" (http://hkupop.pori.hk) of the Public Opinion Programme (POP) at the University of Hong Kong today releases in its "POP Column" an article entitled " The Media should Handle Opinion Polls with Care". Written by Robert Ting-Yiu Chung, Director of Public Opinion Programme at HKU, the article pointed out some common mistakes made by the local media in reporting opinion polls, and made some suggestions on how to present the figures.

Chung believed that the majority of the local news media, as well as some opinion researchers, may not be aware of some recognized standards in releasing or reporting opinion polls. The article suggested the media to observe the so-called "principle of minimum disclosure" when reporting opinion polls. Chung also pointed out that the local media failed to master the concept of precision, often confused ratings with percentages, and change in percentage points with percentage of change. The article made some suggestions on how to handle these figures properly.

The copyright of the column article is entirely open, and anyone can re-print it in whole or in part. Please note that everything carried in the POP Site does not represent the stand of the University of Hong Kong. Dr Robert Ting-Yiu Chung, Director of Public Opinion Programme, is responsible for everything posted in the POP Site, except for column articles which represent the stand of their authors.